Monthly Archives: October 2016

Oftentimes in my practical thinking I wonder why we sometimes travel to great lengths, investing time and money to go to remote places to see the deaf where we may never go again.

“Is a short time visiting this place really going to make a difference?” I ask myself, “How much can we really accomplish in just a few moments with that person? Should we be investing our time where it is more “practical” to follow up?”

And every time I think in this very carnal way, the Spirit reminds me, “It is so worth it! That one moment spent with that person could change their life!”

I have been reminded of this truth time and time again in Honduras. Whether it is spending six hours traveling to a village, to spend two hours with a handful of people, just once a month. “It is so worth it!”

Spending money to fly to a remote part of this country, getting in a dugout canoe for six hours and traveling around in the rain where we don’t even speak the language, and looking for deaf people only to get twenty minutes with them before moving on. “It is so worth it!”

Most recently I saw it play out in a rural village in Uganda. I was with Robin, Signs of Love’s founder, who had visited this village for the first time 3 years prior and hadn’t been back since. During her previous visit she did a survey of the deaf community where she met several deaf people and spent no more than a half an hour with them and their families. She was greatly anticipating revisiting these precious deaf for our visit. When we arrived at the first house, Malik’s mother come out the greet us. Through a translator she explained that they had told her we were coming this morning and they had sent someone to get him where we was working and he should be arriving soon. Right about that moment, we turned around to the sounds of boots running. It was Malik and he was running towards us in great excitement! He and Robin hugged like long lost family members with matching smiles plastered across their faces. Remember, Robin had only spent half an hour with this boy 3 years ago and it was clear that it changed his life! “It is so worth it!”

I am reminded of the hundreds of encounters that Jesus had in the Bible. Outside of his small group of followers, most people he only spent just a brief moment with, but it changed the course of their lives! The lepers, the Samaritan woman, the paralyzed man, the blind man, the woman caught in adultery, the thief on the cross, most of whom we don’t even know their names. Jesus knew their names, and through he spent just a moment with them, their lives were forever changed because of that one moment! That one encounter with Love.

I often times feel so much pressure to take advantage of the brief moments we are given with people! What do I bring to them that will really make in impact in that moment? How do I communicate all the hundreds of truths that I so desperately want to share in that brief moment when they don’t even know sign language? What can I do to show them I care, and more importantly Jesus cares!

I am reminded it is love that goes beyond the time limits.

It is love that goes beyond the communication barriers.

It is love that in just a moment can change a life!

As we were leaving Malik’s mom gifted us each with a beautiful grass mat that she had handmade.

Advertisements

Share this:

As you can see from the smiles on these faces, we are grateful for these two – Rob & Terri – long time supporters of Signs of Love who bless us with their visits, encouragement, wisdom, and LOVE. We’d love to share photos like this of all of you who support what we do. Come visit!

Share this:

Kathryn & Jessie went looking for deaf in one of Honduras’ indigenous people groups, the Chorti people. La Pintada is a beautiful mountain top community outside Copan Ruinas accessible mainly on foot or horseback. The children eagerly followed us around the village and wanted to sing us the Honduran National Anthem in their Chorti language. A hard of hearing woman worked making dolls out of corn husks.

Share this:

The deaf that are part of Signs of Love are often the ones that lead us to other deaf in their surrounding community! Sandra took the lead as we tried to catch up with a young woman and her young baby walking down the road. She wasn’t deaf, but her sister was! Sandra had seen them using gestures to communicate a few weeks before but didn’t know which person was deaf. Maritza attended her second program on Thursday and she brings so much joy with her contagious smile.